The present invention relates generally to a golf club carrying case designed for travelling. More specifically, the present invention relates to a golf club case that functions as both a golf bag and a travel case.
A golfer's clubs often represent a significant investment in money and time. Modem clubs are expensive. In addition, since many golfers are likely to have a favorite putter, favorite wedges, favorite drivers, etc. that have been acquired separately, a golfer's clubs represent a unique and irreplaceable set. Finally, golfers spend countless hours becoming familiar with their own clubs. With these factors in mind, it's no wonder that every golfer prefers to use his own clubs. In fact, most golfers keep their clubs in the car, always available for the unexpected opportunity to play a few holes or just hit some balls.
Business and vacation travel, however, present a dilemma: the average golf bag is open, heavy, and cumbersome, which makes it difficult to check as airline baggage or include in a fully loaded vehicle. On business trips, clothing, documents, samples, a laptop computer, etc. all take priority over a golf bag. And while the golf bag may be given greater priority for vacation travel, the overall bulk of the bag frequently means it gets left at home because using rental clubs is often much more convenient.
A number of inadequate solutions to this problem can be found in the marketplace. Most standard circular golf bags come with covers that can be snapped or zipped on over the exposed club heads. While such covers keep the clubs in the bag, they do little to protect the heads of the clubs. If the bag is dropped, thrown, or has other luggage or cargo packed on top of it, the club head, shafts, and the bag itself feel almost the full force of the impact. Further, covers offer little or no security, accessory pockets remain readily accessible and even if locked on, covers can easily be slit.
A slight improvement over a cover for the club heads are full-length bag covers made of heavy-duty fabric. Full covers have the advantage of protecting the outside of the bag from moisture and dirt and a locking zipper may provide some security. However, while perfect for the car, such covers provide insufficient protection against the abuse that checked luggage undergoes.
Offering slightly better security are cases that are readily available in discount sporting goods stores. Such cases are typically configured as a clamshell or a pair of telescoping tubes. These cases are sized to hold a standard golf bag, and usually permit the addition of a padlock to prevent a casual thief from searching for desirable items. While these bags provide some protection during travel, the heads of the club are typically not protected unless the user takes the time to wrap them individually.
A cross between soft covers and hard-shell cases are the cases described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,001 to Kim and U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,185 to Schurman. These patents both describe hard-shell conventionally shaped cases that have auxiliary covers to protect the club heads. However, both bags are extremely bulky and the club heads are free to move.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,906 to Lombardo, et al. describes a bag configured for use on motorized carts having a padded hinged cover that holds the club heads in place. While offering improved protection for the clubs, the described bag is large, conventionally shaped, and appears best suited for semi-permanent attachment to a powered golf cart.
Because a standard golf bag permits the club heads and shafts to move around it is difficult for any case or protective device designed for use with a standard bag to really secure the clubs. In addition, such cases and protective devices add to the significant bulk and weight of standard bags.
Cases configured for travel are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,761 to Fumia, U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,992 to Bowdy, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,290 to McCuaig, et al. Unfortunately, all of these cases are poor substitutes for a standard golf bag. The manner in which these cases are configured results in an awkward presentation of the clubs for play, requires that they be mounted on a cart or carried, and dictates that in many situations the cases must be closed after a club has been selected in order to permit the case to be moved.